Raw Almond Milk

October 11, 2011

I recently watched the documentary ‘Forks Over Knives’ and it was a life changer. The movie provides some stunning scientific evidence supporting the relationship between animal product consumption and disease. I want to live a long healthy life! I’m nowhere close to maintaining an exclusively plant-based diet, but I’m making changes. For example, I’ve never been a big meat eater but I consume quite a bit of dairy. To offset this, I’ve been alternating between milk and non-dairy alternatives.

Out of the wide array of non-dairy milk alternatives available, my favorite is almond milk. It has a mild, smooth flavor and works great in cereal, coffee and smoothies. I have yet to try baking with it but I’ve heard many success stories. I decided to try making my own to see how it compared to store brands such as Almond Breeze.

This recipe is a winner. The milk is creamy, flavorful and tastes much less processed than the store brands I’ve tried. And it’s so easy! Here’s a link to the nutritional information to compare with store brands.

Update: I’ve been making this a lot, so I purchased a Nut Milk Bag to avoid wasting cheesecloth. Definitely worth it!

Place almonds in a container and cover with filtered water. Leave them in the fridge to soak for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. Make sure to add plenty of water, since the almonds will absorb and expand.

Rinse the almonds in more filtered water and then place in a sturdy blender (I use a Vitamix, it's amazing). Add 3 cups of filtered water. For creamier milk you can add less water.

Puree the almonds and water.

Place a fine mesh strainer and cheesecloth over a bowl large enough that there is space at the bottom. Allow the almond mixture to strain for at least 2 hours. Alternately, you can use a nut milk bag (see link) which takes about 15 minutes.

Discard the leftover pulp or, even better, look online at the assortment of recipes using almond meal.

If you want to flavor the milk so it tastes more like store brands, try adding a splash of vanilla and agave nectar.

Consume within a few days. Don't worry if you see separation in the milk. Shake it! Unlike this all-natural milk, store brands contain stabilizers and preservatives.

Thanks for sharing this. I also saw “Forks over Knives” and I’ve been alerted to similar studies in, for example, “What to Eat,” by the famous Marion Nestle (book). I think there’s something to be said about leaning more towards vegetarian/vegan diets (though I am by no means a vegan) because it’s better for our health, animals, and the health of the planet. How could you go wrong?

Another important thing to note is that both Marion Nestle in “What to Eat” and Peter Singer in “The Ethics of What We Eat” both point out that the idea that we need excessive amounts of protein has been debunked and that any person who isn’t eating cheetoes all day, if they get enough calories, will be getting enough protein.

I agree with all of this. And I don’t think people should feel pressured by these studies or other factors to make a sudden dramatic life change. That won’t work with most people. Gradual lifestyle changes are the key to success, in my opinion.

Yay for you! I read The China Study last year and have anticipated the movie ever since. As a Food Scientist that has studies the impact of disease prevention through food for over a decade, I have been thrilled to share this book and encourage others to watch the movie! What we eat has a huge impact on our lives. I’m eager to watch how this information impacts the recipe posts of your site as well as your life. Congrats!

Today was the first time I’ve made almond milk so I haven’t decided what to make with the meal. BUT, I have a question for you! Do you dry out the almond meal before using it? I’ve been pressing it but there seems to be a lot of residual moisture.

I like to aim for “as dry as possible,” but you won’t be able to get all of the moisture out. Fortunately for me, this works out great because a bit of moisture makes eating my snack much more satisfying.

So my unhelpful answer is that it depends on what you’d like to do with your almond meal. I imagine it would be delicious in cookies or in pie crust!

There is a wonderful recipe at Elana’s Pantry for Vegan Almond Pulp Crackers…it’s great for all that leftover almond pulp. I don’t dry mine before I use it for this recipe, I also have great luck putting it in the freezer for later use.http://www.elanaspantry.com/vegan-almond-pulp-crackers/

Making small changes like this to redress the balance, rather than cutting things out altogether, appeals to me so very much. I’ve already started something similar with processed sugar and wheat flour (I try to use alternatives, or substiotute part of the sugar or flour with substitutes when baking). So far it’s working out great!

I bake gluten free and I use almond meal frequently. It is very expensive so I may take a shot at making almond milk just to get the leftover almond meal out of it! Very good in pie/tart crust and a host of other places you would normally use flour or bread crumbs.

I shall definitely be giving your recipe ago as the last time I tried to make almond milk I didn’t soak the almonds first and the milk was way too bitty. Nice idea to reuse the almond meal but I suspect my three nut-loving hounds will insist on getting their greedy paws on it first.

I like to drink almond milk from time to time but never thought to make my own. Will definitely have to try it. I find the sweetened version from the store too sweet and the unsweetened version in need of a little sugar. What better way to suit you own taste than to make it yourself.

Thanks so much for this recipe! I actually took a little course in nut milks last year, but I haven’t made any in so long.

I have always had issues with dairy: I don’t think it’s healthy, and I don’t digest cow milk well (goat milk is another story), yet it’s my big “junk food” craving. Solution: we just eat dairy on weekends, and even then we try to keep it to a minimum. Weekend consumption is an easy way to cut back on certain foods.

I’ll definitely be trying this! I drink normal milk but I shouldn’t because it does make me feel sick, but I can’t have soy either. And I think this will be good because it won’t be as sweet as any store-bought milk substitutes – I always find them too sweet. Thanks for posting this!

Can almond milk be frozen? Just a thought. I make my cat and dog food in large batches and freeze 3-day portions. maybe it is possible to make large batches of almond milk and begin thawing the next few servings while using one. What do you think? I had no clue making almond milk was so simple! Thank you for sharing this.

I tried it, initially it looked like it was going to work but it would never fully mix back together not matter how much I shaked/stirred it in the jar…stayed too separated for my taste. Maybe if I blended it again, not sure?

This sounds so simple! Why the heck have I not been making my own almond milk all this time? Do you think this would work with a different type of nut as well, like hazelnuts or walnuts? I would love to someday be able to drink a tall glass of homemade pistachio milk… mmmm yumm :)

I think its a good idea to alternate between soya, almond and rice milk. I don’t consume cows milk. I’m going to try to make the almond milk – your recipe seems quite simple. Thanks for mentioning the documentary, I’ll see if my library has it. Have a nice day. Linda

Like you, even when I ate meat I didn’t eat a lot. When I began a vegan lifestyle this year, the hardest part was giving up the dairy. I used to say that if I had to eat one food for the rest of my life, it’d be cheese. And a glass of milk with my Oreos? Mmmm, just try to stop me. But after I was off of dairy for a few weeks, my body didn’t crave it anymore. The different “milks” like almond totally do the job for me now. But I’ve never tried making my own – great idea! We always have almonds around, so it shouldn’t be too hard. (btw, your photos are amazing – great job!)

I make almond milk periodically and I freeze the left-over pulp. The other day I added about 1/4 cup to my oatmeal, ground flax, protein powder mixture for breakfast and it was really good! I also added some to the banana muffins I made this morning! I am trying to sneak it in wherever I can! Thank you for reading my post today! Vicky D

I’ve been working as a personal assistant (chef, organizer, errand runner, scrapbooker, etc ;)
for a little over a year now for a vegan family. Coming from my family where veganism wasn’t even really discussed as a viable option (cause you need your protein from meat and cheese, as they say), learning different food recipes has been an adventure and learning curve.
Consistently now, I make about 2 gallons of almond milk a week (white and chocolate), and lots of different goodies and meals at work.
Thankfully, it has all worked out beneficially as from my experience and documentaries like Forks over Knives have helped me become a mainly vegan eater (it’s hard living in a non-vegan household!)
Thanks for sharing your recipes that look so tasty (and sounds like switching toward a less dairy base :)

Forks over Knives – I have to see that, I love documentaries like this.
Great and simple recipe for almond milk – it’s rare over here in Germany, so this recipe is great for almond lovers like me ;)
I see you’re planning to make coconut milk? It’s basically the same recipe – and it makes a great extremely refreshing sorbet, because it has a lot more freshness in comparison to store bought coconut milks.

I love freshly made almond milk. We use to make it at home when I was younger. You can also heat up the almond milk with some honey and whisk in an egg white. It makes for a yummy hot healthy breakfast. Love your photo

[…] some entries in advance. However, I’ve been wanting to make coconut milk ever since I made raw almond milk. This was the perfect week to try. And it was so easy and delicious. It has a consistency […]

[…] dairy free healthy future. One of the recipes was this homemade almond milk I originally found at Savory Simple along with the recommendation for this documentary. I used the almond milk both as garnish and as […]

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